The 60' Shot Put Club is small
because the distance is huge.
Try picking up the guy's 16 lb. shot put and imagine getting it out to 60'. That's right, for most of us, it is a distance that will remain right there... in our imaginations. Even in shot put-deep Pennsylvania, it is a distance that does not happen for a lot of athletes. In fact, indoor or outdoor since indoor 2004, there have only been nine athletes to achieve the feat. It is that special.
The two newest members of this exclusive club are seniors Wayne Crawford Jr. of Chestnut Hill Academy, and Joe Kovacs of Bethlehem Catholic. Both achieved their big throws on February 3rd at different meets. Kovacs threw 60-04 in the prelims at the Gill Athletics Invitational at Kutztown University, while Crawford threw 60-06 at Lehigh University at the TFCAGP D2 Indoor Meet #9. There are two other guys in PA who are very close to the distance, one of whom has thrown over 60 outdoor. Senior Weston Banks of Hempfield (7) went 59-03 on February 2 at the Slippery Rock HS Inv. #2. His outdoor PR is 59-04.25. And senior Denes Veres of Riverside has an indoor best of 59 thrown on February 8 at the TSTCA Indoor Meet #4. He has a 2006 outdoor PR of 60-10. Banks has been recovering from some back pain, and is not yet at 100%.
But the first two over the 60' barrier are Kovacs and Crawford.
Kovac's throw was a 3'+ PR indoor or out, and was not entirely expected by any of the officials at Kutztown. The circle is on the infield, and the barrier was set at the usual spot, safe for pretty much anything in the 50's. But Kovacs unleashed his throw and it went over the barrier, coming within an inch or two of hitting someone's foot. Fortunately, no one got hurt.
Kovacs says he had been hitting 60's in practice. In meets when he did pass that mark, he was fouling. "This one definitely felt good. I knew when I released it. It was time."He feels he has a lot more in him for States. "I kind of blocked myself off. Nothing is perfect. It was smooth, but I have lots to work on."
Crawford's throw was a 2' 7" PR from a 57-11 PR in February of 2006. A self-taught spinner, Crawford started to improve his distance this season after a camp at the University of Virginia a few months ago where he had the chance to be critiqued by world-class thrower Adam Nelson. "He said my spin was basically good, but that most of the time I wasn't using the entire throw." He was only using half the circle and was losing acceleration and torque. "He taught me how to use the entire circle." Crawford now has more speed, but has some work to do. "Once I figure how to get the power with the speed, I'll put one out there."
His 60-06 came at the end of a nice series, with the three leading up to the big one at 55, 57 (a PR), and a 59 (a PR). "When I was getting set for my last throw, one of the marking guys said to throw 60'. I said 'yes sir'.". He was nearly out of the sector on the throw, and ended up tweaking his hamstring. But he stayed in, and had his first season goal of 60. He was over 60' on his final throw at the February 10 PTFCA Track Carnival, but fouled.
Crawford actually started throwing as a freshman as part of a family bet that he would eventually win as a sophomore. His father, Wayne Sr, had won the Philadelphia City Championships at Overbrook in 1975 with a PR put of 49-06.75.
It's a bet that had no prize, other than personal satisfaction. "I'm not into awards or prizes. Every time he wants me to do something, he says I can't."
Both Kovacs and Crawford are football players as well, and both will hope to continue competing on the gridiron and in the circle at college... Kovacs as a walk-on at Penn State University, and Crawford at North Carolina State.
Kovacs wants the outdoor AA state record of 64-05.75 set in 2003 by Union City's Justin Clickett. And Crawford wants the Chestnut Hill Academy school record of 61-05. Outdoor, he wants to pass 62'.
So Indoor States is setting up to be a real battle, especially since there are no AA or AAA designations. Which means that Crawford, Kovacs, Banks and Veres... and others, will be shooting for the biggest throws of their careers. And that may be what it takes to win. Over 60'.